Composition for preventing fumes in minlng-powders



- 'sivcs or giant-powder and to enable the operand destroy the poison or poisonous gases that UNITED STATES I ATENT Fries.

ROBIE OROXVE, OF GEORGETOYVN,COLORADO.

eoMPosmon FOR PREVENTING FUMES'IN MlNE Ne-PowoEns.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 642,707, dated October 18, 1898.

Application filed October 21,1897. "sum 1%. 655,956.' on s ecimen.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ROBIE (Brown, a citizen of the United States, residing at Georgetown, in the county of Clear Creek and State of Colorado, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Explosives; and I dohereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

lIeretofore the difficulty in the use of high explosives or giant-powders used for mining purposes, more especially underground mining, has been an injury to the health of the operator by reason of the poisonous gases and parts of the said explosive rema ning in the workings unexploded, thereby causing sickness, headache, weakness, and injury to the lungs, and it is believed to be the main cause of a disease'kunwn'as mi new eensum pti'on Another difficulty in the use of high explosivcs or giant-powders is the amount of time lost after the explosion until the air has become cleared or purified, so that the operator may return to the works where he has been operating. The time so lost is from one to three hours.

The object of my invention is to neutralize are left after the explosion of thehigh exploator to at once return to his work and continue at it without any injurious effects, and it has been found by the use of my invention that atlea'st seventy-five per cent, of the injurious eifeets have been avoided and that very little time, if any, need be wasted after the explosion in the works, subg'cct, however, to the condition of the works; but I claiui,whatever the conditions, that an improvement over the old method of not less than seventyfive percent. as to health and of at least ninety per cent. of an advantage in the amount of time lost is gained by the use of my invention and that the high explosive'or giantpowdcr used in connection with my improvement is not impaired in its cllects as a. high explosive, but that with the use of my improvement the explosion is more perfect and the strength of the explosion upon the works is increased at least twenty-five per cent.

To carry my invention into effect, I take the three ingredients, the first of which is fifty per cent. in weight of unbolted wheat-flour,

shorts, or coarse flour. five per cent. of common salt (sodium chlorid) in a fine-ground form. To these add twentyfive per cent. of bicarbonate of soda in a fine ground form. These are stirred together dry until thoroughly mixed and kept dry until ready for use. (At the time of using water will not injure.) Place the said ingredients in a common shell (more or less like a giantpowder shell) of any suitable dimension or size. quarters of an inch in diameter and from two to three inches in length; but any other suitable shape -or size must be determined by the character of the work to be accomplished. With this shell I use two equal parts of the same bulk of some standard high explosive oi: giii'l'it pb'wder, and"! place tne'nrst part of .the high explosive containing the cap in the bottom of the hole prepared for the explosive, then my ingredients, then the second amount of the high explosive, then tamp the powder as is usually done, and the explosive isready to he exploded. Any other suitable arrangement of the three parts may be made; but

Add to that twenty- I prefer that the shell shall be. three- 6'5 this has generally proved the best.

My ingredient cannot be mixed with the high explosive or giant-powder forit destroys the explosive qualities of the powder and must be used as a third part.-

My ingredient can be made up with the cartridge by inserting it as a thirdpart independent of the explosive in the center or at either endof the explosive-cartridge but the mixtures of the explosive and my ingredient in a cart-ridge form, or my ingredients may be placed lengthwise in the center of a cartridge surrounded by the high explosive or giant-powder, but independent thereof.

must have been made before arranging them The advan lages gained by the use ofm y ingredionts in the combination as above described is that the open loose nature of the unbolted wheat-flour allows common salt and the bicarbonate of soda to be equally distributedfi and thesc-to wit, the common saltand the bi- 10c carbonate of soda-arc in immediate readiness to perform their neutralizing effect on the foul gases.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim, and desife to sec'ure by Letters Patent, twenty-five per cent.- of bicarbonate of soda. in

isa fine-ground form. v

A mixture for neutralizing the poisonous gases from explosions of giant-powdercon V sisting of fifty per cent. in weight of unboltd Witnesses:

ROBIE CROWE.

wheat-flour, twenty-five per cent. in weight C. -MINGE, I

of common salt in a, finely-ground form and PQ ITIER RIQ K 

